Kwame's Story: When a Landlord's Eviction Notice Wasn't What It Seemed

Kwame had been renting his home in County Kildare for three years without any trouble. He paid his rent on time, looked after the place well, and had a good relationship with his landlord. Then one day, he received an eviction notice stating that the owner intended to sell the property. Kwame was given two months' notice and told he'd need to leave. He felt shocked and upset—he had nowhere else lined up, and the property market in his area was difficult.

Following the notice period, Kwame moved out as instructed. But just weeks after he left, something strange happened. He discovered through a friend that the house had been re-let to new tenants. The property had never been sold. Kwame realised the landlord had used the "sale of property" reason simply to evict him, then immediately found new renters at a higher rate. This felt wrong to him, and he contacted the Residential Tenancies Board.

The RTB investigated and found that the eviction notice was invalid. The landlord had breached the rules around eviction for the purpose of sale—you cannot evict a tenant under this ground and then immediately re-let the property. The decision was in Kwame's favour. While he couldn't return to his old home, he was awarded compensation and had the satisfaction of knowing his rights had been protected and the landlord's actions had been properly challenged.